The Prosecution for Organized Crime and
Serbian police have been leading in recent three years the most
important investigation over money laundering in Europe. As Blic learns
exclusively the amount in question is huge - about 1.7 billion Euros.
There are suspicions that drug lord Darko Saric has invested that money
in Serbian economy. The police believe that Saric laundered the money by
giving credits to almost 600 companies from Serbia.

Special police teams from Austria and Holland have been included in
this most extensive investigation ever being led by Serbian Prosecution
for Organized Crime.

The findings reveal that the money laundering was organized at a time
when Saric had a huge amount of cash, from 2006 to 2009 when police
action ‘The Balkan Warrior’ was carried out.

The most striking data that the police revealed in this investigation is
that money laundering was organized via two investment funds in
Amsterdam. That is why police teams from Holland and Austria have joined
the investigation. About 200 million Euros were laundered via the Hypo
Alpe Adria International AG Bank from Copenhagen – Hypo Group
Netherlands Corporate Finance BV from Amsterdam. More than a billion of
Euros were laundered via Ri Eastern European Finance BV investment fund
the founder of which is the Reiffeisen International Bank Holding AG of
Vienna.

Darko Saric

The Austrian Hypo Alpe Adria Bank came in focus of European public
attention in summer of 2009 when huge corruption affair was revealed. It
was then that the inflow of dirty money stopped. The Hypo Alpe Adria
International AG as a mother bank at the time when Saric was laundering
money via it was in major ownership of the famous Bayerische Landesbank
(67.08 ownership stake) and a minor shareholder – one of the Austrian
provinces. The first man of the bank Wolfgang Kulterer was arrested and
the Republic of Austria undertook the ownership over the entire Hypo
Alpe Adria Group.

At that time the investment funds of this bank, but also of the
Reiffeisen International Bank Holding AG – Ri Eastern European Finance
BV in Amsterdam (not shaken by any affair until so far), were so popular
among Serbian business circles.
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Doubts by international investigation bodies that Saric has protection
in Montenegro have been confirmed to ‘Blic’ by Nebojsa Medojevic, leader
of the Movement for Changes. He claims that Saric is at Montenegrin
coast. Medojevic accused Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic to have publicly
voiced himself as ‘a chief of a criminal organization’ and that ‘he
was trying to excuse himself to Saric and Brana Micunovic’.
Medojevic said that in Montenegro ‘there are five drug-dealing bosses –
Brana Micunovic, Milo and Aco Djukanovic, Stanko Subotic and Darko
Saric’.
Andrija Mandic, leader of New Serbian Democracy also said that ‘Milo
Djukanovic is vitally interested that Saric and his helpers remain free’
because ‘he is afraid of their possible testifying in court’.
‘Saric and his helpers have invested hundreds of millions of EUR in
their property in Montenegro, but in some political projects as well’,
Mandic claims in his statement to the ‘Tanjug’.
……………………………….http://english.blic.rs

The Supreme Court on Friday issued contempt notice to the Managing Director of Sahara Group Subrata Roy and two others for allegedly interfering with the investigation into the 2G spectrum case and in the administration of justice.

A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly issued notice, taking serious view of a questionnaire sent by a reporter of Sahara Samay Television seeking personal information from the investigating officer Rajeshwar Singh, Assistant Director, Enforcement Directorate, New Delhi zonal office, soon after summons were issued to Mr. Roy under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for recording his statement.

The Bench, after hearing senior counsel K.K. Venugopal, appearing for Mr. Singh also issued notice to Upendra Rai, Editor and News Director of Sahara India and Subodh Jain, reporter seeking their response in six weeks, rejoinder in two weeks thereafter and directed the matter to be listed after eight weeks. Senior counsel Siddharth Luthra, appeared for Mr. Roy and Mr. Upendra Rai.

The Bench in its order said: “Having gone through the records we are prima facie of the view that an attempt has been made to interfere with the investigation conducted by Mr. Rajeshwar Singh in what has been described as 2G spectrum scam case and related matters. Therefore, we take suo motu cognisance and issue notices to them.”

The Bench recorded an undertaking from Mr. Luthra that the Sahara India News Network and its sister concerns would not publish/ broadcast any story or programme relating to Mr. Singh on the basis of the 25 questions sent by the reporter...

On a visit to Macedonia, Indian billionaire Subrata Roy has unveiled his plans to build a luxury recreational complex on the shores of the country's jewel, Lake Ohrid.
Sinisa Jakov Marusic BIRN Skopje

The project is expected to boost tourism in Ohrid

Roy, who arrived in Ohrid on Wednesday to visit the planned location, said on Thursday that the price tag will amount to at least several hundred million euro.

“Our intentions are not to build some mediocre tourist complex, but a destination that will rank among the top five or ten in the world,” Roy told a press conference during his two-day visit.

The complex, the Saharayan Makeeduniya, will be developed across 240 hectares around the Lake Ohrid near Ljubanista village. It will include luxury hotels, a floating hotel on the lake, casinos, residential and recreational facilities and an international standard golf course.

The scenic town of Ohrid along with the lake of the same name in southwest Macedonia are the country's biggest tourist attraction.

The government hopes that this major investment will extend the tourist season in Ohrid throughout the year, create thousands of new jobs and boost construction and other industries in the country.

“For our part, we are doing everything we can to ensure the swift, quality and transparent realization of the project,” Finance Minister Zoran Stevreski said.

To speed up the investment, the government said it had formed a team of experts to help with the legal, financial and ecological aspects of the project.
The planned resort has also boosted the government's own plans to extend the existing motorway from Skopje with an extra stretch towards Ohrid.

Once the resort is completed, Roy’s company, Sahara India Pariwar, said it plans to extend its investments to the nearby Galicica Mountain, where a ski centre is planned, as well as to the nearby Lake Prespa.

The project has been designed by Atkins, a UK-based engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting company. The design, they say, bears the signature of architect Tom Wright, who designed the famed Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai.

Subrata Roy, listed among the ten most influential people in India by India Today, visited Macedonia in mid-June, when he received a warm welcome from Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his economic team.